Sleeping Buddha lies buried under the sand of crumbling civilizationspink sandstone with emerald eyes50...100 feet tallhis face the contour of the hills and the lines of his feet etched in rockssleeping through the rise and fall of dynastiesthe pinnacles of art and scienceharvest and abundancedrought and faminecorruption and the resurgence of superstitionhis heart the heartbeat of the earthhis breath the wind moaning through wadis in a parched landthrough warm rays of the sun and the cold breeze of death

We search under rocks and in caves in far away landson treks into the mountains and jungleeverywhere but in silence the silence of the soul

The Buddha is awake, even when sleepingbut WE are dreamingWe dream of power and glorymisery and sorroweverything in betweenwe dream, and have dreams within dreams

And when the faint sound of bamboo flute in the forestgrows until it fills the temples, palaces, prisonsto the far ends of the earththen six billion people - every man woman and childevery sentient being on earth will awaken with himwhen one awakens all awakenand Sleeping Buddha is everywhere you look:

Green Buddha - covered with moss and surrounded by giant tree roots glistening in the rainSnow Buddha - half frozen shadows and white in the pale moonlightWater Buddha - coming alive among koi in ripples of the pondFire Buddha - flickering in the flame of 108 candlesMountain Buddha - in the Khumbu icefall of Chomolungma third eye jewel reflecting the lanterns of monks who walk in the night as the wind howls

When we awaken we find himin the song of birdsthe roots of treesin the clouds overheadin the ethersin matter and in emptinessand in the radiant flower that blooms in the heart

"He, the Blessed One, is indeed the Noble Lord, the Perfectly Enlightened One;He is impeccable in conduct and understanding, the Serene One, the Knower of the Worlds;He trains perfectly those who wish to be trained; he is Teacher of gods and men; he is Awake and Holy. "--------------------------------------------"The Dhamma is well-expounded by the Blessed One, Apparent here and now, timeless, encouraging investigation, Leading to liberation, to be experienced individually by the wise. "

"Somewhere in the shadow of the niches, he believes, lies a third Buddha—a 1,000-foot-long reclining colossus built at roughly the same time as the standing giants. His belief is based on a description written 1,400 years ago by a Chinese monk, Xuanzang, who visited the kingdom for several weeks. Tarzi has spent seven years probing the ground beneath the niches in search of the fabled statue..."

"He, the Blessed One, is indeed the Noble Lord, the Perfectly Enlightened One;He is impeccable in conduct and understanding, the Serene One, the Knower of the Worlds;He trains perfectly those who wish to be trained; he is Teacher of gods and men; he is Awake and Holy. "--------------------------------------------"The Dhamma is well-expounded by the Blessed One, Apparent here and now, timeless, encouraging investigation, Leading to liberation, to be experienced individually by the wise. "

"Somewhere in the shadow of the niches, he believes, lies a third Buddha—a 1,000-foot-long reclining colossus built at roughly the same time as the standing giants. His belief is based on a description written 1,400 years ago by a Chinese monk, Xuanzang, who visited the kingdom for several weeks. Tarzi has spent seven years probing the ground beneath the niches in search of the fabled statue..."

Dear Kusala,No, I don't know much about Buddha statues in Afghanistan...but once I read the news about the Taliban bombed the big standing Buddha statue...very sad...that statue was so precious as an antique/history.

"Somewhere in the shadow of the niches, he believes, lies a third Buddha—a 1,000-foot-long reclining colossus built at roughly the same time as the standing giants. His belief is based on a description written 1,400 years ago by a Chinese monk, Xuanzang, who visited the kingdom for several weeks. Tarzi has spent seven years probing the ground beneath the niches in search of the fabled statue..."

Dear Kusala,No, I don't know much about Buddha statues in Afghanistan...but once I read the news about the Taliban bombed the big standing Buddha statue...very sad...that statue was so precious as an antique/history.

"He, the Blessed One, is indeed the Noble Lord, the Perfectly Enlightened One;He is impeccable in conduct and understanding, the Serene One, the Knower of the Worlds;He trains perfectly those who wish to be trained; he is Teacher of gods and men; he is Awake and Holy. "--------------------------------------------"The Dhamma is well-expounded by the Blessed One, Apparent here and now, timeless, encouraging investigation, Leading to liberation, to be experienced individually by the wise. "

"He, the Blessed One, is indeed the Noble Lord, the Perfectly Enlightened One;He is impeccable in conduct and understanding, the Serene One, the Knower of the Worlds;He trains perfectly those who wish to be trained; he is Teacher of gods and men; he is Awake and Holy. "--------------------------------------------"The Dhamma is well-expounded by the Blessed One, Apparent here and now, timeless, encouraging investigation, Leading to liberation, to be experienced individually by the wise. "